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Rotuaari Back for Pedestrians |
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By Virpi Hattukangas
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Sunday, 16 March 2008 |
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Traffic at Rotuaari has been a problem for the city for some time now. Kaleva reported on the new plans to reclaim it for its original use. Hundreds of cars use the pedestrian area in the Oulu centre for various purposes. There are the deliveries, taxis and just drive-through traffic. Between 257 and 307 cars were counted on one Tuesday and one Thursday in January 2008.
The busiest traffic takes place in the morning between 10am and 11am and in the afternoon between 3pm and 4pm. Most cars during the spot check were found to be private although the hypothesis was that they would be mainly deliveries and service runs. Currently deliveries are forbidden after 10am but traffic seems to be busy throughout the day and sometimes even through the night. Some even park their cars at Rotuaari. The City Council of Oulu intends to limit the car traffic at Rotuaari by increasing supervision and limiting access. At first, however, the Council intends to add new 30-minute parking spots around Rotuaari for delivery and service vehicles. More parking spots near Rotuaari are also promised for disabled people and new taxi stands in the vicinity. No parking will be allowed at Rotuaari itself. In the autumn deliveries and service runs will be restricted to mornings between 6am and 11am. After that, back entrances or short term parking spots must be used. 30-minute spots are reserved for deliveries from 8am to 8pm.
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